HELP Any brake bleeding tricks????

[69hurstolds]

I'm betting you don't have the brake light operative any longer either with the new gages. Which is a shame, because if you did, you'd likely see the slide valve went to the rear if you were able to bleed the fronts without issue and your brake light illuminate on the dash.

There IS a way to reset it manually, but it would require taking the rear line off the combo valve, tapping the flare seat with a 6-32 tap, then use a 6-32 screw and nut with a large washer and use it as a puller to yank out the seat and back section of the slider valve assembly. You can then use a screwdriver to push the shuttle valve forward. Yeah, a bit of work, but you could do it without disassembling EVERYTHING.

Check it out here.

1979 Kelsey-Hayes Cast Iron Combination Valve Autopsy | Muscle Car Research LLC

www.musclecarresearch.com

 

[Injectedcutty]

I'm betting you don't have the brake light operative any longer either with the new gages. Which is a shame, because if you did, you'd likely see the slide valve went to the rear if you were able to bleed the fronts without issue and your brake light illuminate on the dash.

There IS a way to reset it manually, but it would require taking the rear line off the combo valve, tapping the flare seat with a 6-32 tap, then use a 6-32 screw and nut with a large washer and use it as a puller to yank out the seat and back section of the slider valve assembly. You can then use a screwdriver to push the shuttle valve forward. Yeah, a bit of work, but you could do it without disassembling EVERYTHING.

Check it out here.

1979 Kelsey-Hayes Cast Iron Combination Valve Autopsy | Muscle Car Research LLC

www.musclecarresearch.com

Surprise surprise, the brake light switch actually is still operable. I have a red LED indicator on my cluster that's specifically for the brake light warning, and it's never turned on so maybe it's ok. Yeah that doesn't sound fun to dissect it under the car. I'd honestly rather unhook the lines and install another lol. I have a buddy local with a Monte graveyard, he's gonna snag me one this week in case I need it.
As mentioned, all 4 corners are bleeding with no air, I had the same issue when bleeding the brakes the 1st time around. Could also be the stupid aftermarket master I installed. I double checked the booster pushrod length and it's the same as stock.
I did talk to the wildwood guys at the street rods last week, they seem to think the pushrod length should be different for the master, but all specs were same as stock, just shiny.

 

[69hurstolds]

That is a surprise. Good that you were thinking ahead on that.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Well, after several rounds of bleeding on each corner, I have decent brakes again. The little button on the front of valve is still out, but brakes seem to be functioning better than before. I made a homemade one man bleeder system out of a Gatorade bottle and clear plastic tubing and it worked mint.
There is still a slight vibration at highway speed which is likely the driveshaft which is about an inch shorter than it should be, but I plan to rectify that issue in the next week or two.
I'm still looking at doing some brake upgrades over the winter to get away with the chrome master/booster which really doesn't match anymore. Also still have new Moser 30 spline axles just waiting for a trutrac. Could turn out to be a pricey winter, we'll see what happens.

 

[83StreetMachine]

Scott, glad to hear you made progress...

This has happened to me twice before in the past. I blew a line and it bled off fluid until the valve popped and the light came on.

One of the times just bleeding the brakes multiple times in the proper order the valve reset.

The other time I was having the exact problem you were. My father told me to go somewhere and do a hard panic stop and it should reset. It did!! On the first try after me spending days bleeding to no avail.

Just wanted to share some backyard knowledge passed along to me more than 20 years ago.